The home of Liverpool Football Club sees its first ever modular (factory built) homes installed in between a street of historic terraced houses, thanks innovative EWI systems and leading companies working together.

The new development, situated close to the Reds’ home ground in Anfield, is a first for Your Housing Group and was partly funded by Homes England. The development of the site, known as Rockfield Mews, saw seven two-bedroom new homes built inside ilke Homes’ factory and positioned into place by crane into the once redundant and derelict space.

Your Housing Group set out to help meet the growing demand for quality, affordable homes and with modular construction continuing to drive innovation in the industry due to modular homes’ superior energy efficiency, it was the perfect choice for the build.

Wetherby’s innovative Modular Façade EWI System was chosen for the project as it has been specially designed to provide the option of assembly in a factory-controlled environment.

Wetherby’s modular brick slip system utilises a unique tongue and groove interlocking, high-density EPSexternal wall insulation board to provide superior strength, high impact resistance and protection against water ingress. This modern method of construction allows for less waste than traditional construction and significantly reduces installation time and the need for skilled labour.

Questions were originally raised by Your Housing as to whether the application of the external wall insulation would be damaged within the process of transportation from factory to site, however Wetherby ensured the system has been through plenty of robust testing for impact resistance, but also allowing enough movement in the system not to damage the façade during travel.

The location of this project created an additional challenge due to it being positioned in an already built-up housing estate with narrow access roads. Because it was important to deliver the project with minimal disruption to local residents, a modular build was the ideal solution as this allowed all of the units to be completed at ilke Homes’ factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire before being transported to the site. Assembling the homes in factory-controlled settings also meant that they could be constructed to a higher build quality than homes using traditional methods.

Engie was appointed to construct the development and was responsible for the preparation of the site infrastructure, foundations and external works. When the site was ready for construction, the new homes were stored a short distance away and were delivered to site one at a time. Once a unit was safely positioned, the next one could be delivered until all 14 units were in place and complete. This allowed the residents maximum access to their homes and little interference with daily life.

The main aesthetic aim of the project was to create homes that would fit within the surrounding terraced houses built early 1880’s without trying to replicate the build type. This meant that the facade needed to include numerous brick colour combinations to compliment the mix of red and yellow bricked existing houses on the street.

The project was completed with a selection of Wetherby’s brick slips including Tivoli to the five houses in the middle, Cream Stock to the two end houses. At installation stage, a space enough for a vertical brick was left between the units until they were locked on top of each other into place. To create finishing touches for the façade, the gap was then easily filled on site to create a feature band consisting of Merida Grey and Merida Red to all the houses.

One of the residents at number 23 spoke to Wetherby’s marketing team about how happy she was to live in her new home. “I love how my new home looks and can’t believe how quickly it was built as the quality is the best rented property I have ever lived in”

Brian Cronin, Group Chief Executive of Your Housing Group said: “This new development is another step forward in the incredible regeneration of Anfield. The modular homes will enable us to deliver quality homes in less time and drive efficiencies. “